DeMarcus Cousins has reportedly recently been fined by the Sacramento Kings for clashes with the coaching staff.

I'm going to give you a second to get over your shock. I know. A gentle soul like DeMarcus Cousins? A sweet, humble, coachable guy like Cousins? How could this happen? What did those coaches do to provoke him like this? Maybe it was Calipari! Yeah, that's it. Calipari warped him!

Okay, so anyway, ESPN reports that Cousins was fined after not just an isolated incident, but a series of incidents that has created an air of tension.

You had to see this coming. This is part of the package. They brought in a coach from his youth just to try and keep him in line. They've done their part in trying to deal with him. That's not to say they shouldn't fine him. That's part of the process, too. But this still wasn't part of the initial best-case-scenario.

Cousins basic stats, 11 and 6, aren't great. But his per-40 numbers are terrific (a double-double) and all his advanced stats look great for a rook, too. It may be time for him to get the ball more if he can stay out of foul trouble (he's also averaging 8.0 fouls per 40). The Kings are certainly not getting it done with him in doses. Not the start the Kings wanted for this season, which was supposed to be one of growth for them.

The Sonics mascot showed up with a sign that said "Homeless" last night. Which is adorable. I do wonder where the sign is that reads "Homeless because people didn't think it was a good idea to build me a new home" but I'm a stickler for accuracy like that.

Mikael Pietrus and Stan Van Gundy got into a shouting match over Pietrus being yanked in the third quarter against the Wolves. One would think in a 40 point annihilation that everyone would be happy. It's also bizarre that SVG continues to have trouble with Pietrus considering that he's been a big part of the team's success and I don't see any yelling or screaming at Vince Carter, but I'm a stickler for fairness like that.

Twitter has not been kind to the Celtics. Twitter is a remarkably easy interface to control, you just have to be sure to think about what you're posting before you post it. Then, if you do post something that isn't great, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for it. Or blame it on hackers. You know, either one.

Deng does work with his mid-range, the Raptors do no work on the glass in the fourth, and Gordon does demolition work on the rim. All that and more in this edition of the Game Changer . Posted by Matt Moore

Each game is made up of elements which help formulate the outcome. Monday through Friday, we'll bring you the elements from the night before's games in our own specialized version of the game recaps. It's not everything that happened, but it's an insight into what lead to the results you'll see in the box scores. This is the Game Changer .

THE BIG ONE: DENG DOIN' WORK

In general, Nicolas Batum is a good defensive player. So is Wesley Matthews. Unfortunately, last night, they were completely overwhelmed by the rarest of finds: a fully functional Luol Deng. Not hampered by injury, a poor offensive system, or mental distractions, last night is a perfect example of what can happen when Deng is feeling it. Particularly, Deng's game is focused on the mid-range J. It's a highly inefficient shot, which is why he so rarely has nights like this. But when it's falling? Good night, nurse. Deng dropped 40 on the Bulls in a game that wasn't close right from the start. The Blazers just looked overwhelmed defensively. They couldn't protect the rim, and nothing was going to work on Deng. He kept nailing pull-up jumpers off the dribble, forcing them to close. Then he pump faked and got to the line. Take a look at his shot chart from CBSSports.com's Game Tracker .

That's a pretty good night from the field. When you're hot, you're hot.

Other than that? Not much to report. The Bulls' defense wasn't really all that stout, allowing a 110.1 efficiency for Portland, despite the Blazers shooting 41% from the field and 0.00% from the arc. 0-14 from the stripe for the Blazers. It was that kind of night. But 41 free throws helped them avoid getting wiped off the map while still being down too much to climb back from. The Blazers just looked a step behind on all their rotations, and the Bulls' offense was functioning at an extremely high level. Derrick Rose finishe with 16, 13, and 5, with 6 turnovers, and made a few absolutely gorgeous cross-court skip passes to Deng for open threes behind the baseline off-ball screen. Stuff you did not see out of the Bulls last year. Thibs has the offense going well, and with Deng hitting the jumper, that was all she wrote.

RAPTORS BOARD OUT OF THEIR MINDS:

The Raptors held a 34-25 advantage on the glass headed into last night's fourth quarter against the Kings. In related news, they held an eight point advantage. In the fourth quarter alone, they lost the rebounding battle by double (14-7, advantage Kings), and were outscored by 11. That was your ballgame. Andrea Bargnani was, for some weird reason, matched up with the bulkier, meaner DeMarcus Cousins, while Reggie Evans was forced to try and hold off the wiry, quicker Carl Landry. It made absolutely no sense and the results bore out. The Raptors had this game on lockdown and just let the Kings take it away from them. This despite Evans finishing with 19 rebounds, 10 offensive. That would make them Never Be Closing, I suppose.

VIDEO-A-GO-GO

In case you missed it last night:

BENCH MOBBED:

The Clippers bench was outscored 32-7 last night in a nine point loss. For those of you keeping track, that means that the starters managed to outscore San Antonio's, but they couldn't handle Gary Neal and James Anderson. It at once says that the Clippers are far too woefully thin to be considered anything close to a playoff team this year, and that the Spurs have once again added young, versatile pieces which will help them this season. One game does not a season make, but the success the Spurs are having is a product of the system, and solid player acquisition. The smart get smarter, the Clips get Clipper.

Last year's rookie of the year usually is tweaking his opponent's ankles. But lately he's having some trouble with his own. Evans tweaked his ankle badly enough in Team USA practice to miss the team's trip to the FIBA world championships. Then in last night's game versus the Lakers, he rolled not one, but two ankles. From the Sacramento Bee :

"I turned this one on a fast break on (Lakers guard) Steve Blake, and I twisted it," Evans said, pointing to his right ankle. "On the next one, I came down on (Lakers center) Theo Ratliff and twisted it. The left one hurts more."

Evans said it's just something he deals with his style of basketball, but three injuries inside three months is still enough to make you twist in your seat a touch. It's basketball. Ankles get rolled. It happens. But the only thing that could stop Evans on what looks like a meteoric rise to superstardom is injury, and particularly injuries to the legs that let him get to the rack so easy. Let's hope this is a blip and nothing to look back on and go "Oh."

DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall have huge debuts in preseason to set the tone for the ROY chase this season. And it may not be close. Posted by Matt Moore

Say what you want about John Calipari, he finds himself some NBA quality talent. After producing the previous two Rookie of the Year award winners in Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, Calipari may end up having more than one horse in the race this season. Both John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were highly touted coming out of college, but through Summer League and their first preseason games, we're already getting a sense that it may be these two, and then everyone else for the top rook trophy.

Wall-Eyed

John Wall in his first game on an NBA floor? He was remarkable. Better than expected. Preseason? Sure. But you can't argue with the kind of production he provided, and not just the numbers that pop out to you. 21 points, 9 assists, 4 steals? Great. But he shot 42% from the field, and more importantly was 9-11 from the line. Most crucial was just two turnovers despite having the ball that much. That's absolutely huge. That numbers will rise with better competition, but just to show the ability is huge for the Wizards as they look for him to become the future of the franchise.

"It's possible I underestimated the effect of John coming at you in transition will have on his stats and the team's performance. Dallas isn't exactly the fastest team in the world, but their only chance at stopping Wall coming at full speed was to foul him.

Wall's half-court execution does still need work, especially his pick and roll offense. He's still learning how to attack the pick in such a way where he actually uses it well. But on the bright side, he didn't turn the ball over much and he realized that Dallas was often playing him to pass."

That's crucial. For some reason, beyond my comprehension, there's been this feeling that Wall's a natural scorer who will have to work to set other players up. If you watched him in college at Kentucky? You know that's not true. Wall more than any other player showed a skillset that fit passing in the NBA best. His drive and kick to the baseline jumper man was automatic, except it was college and no one hits that shot in college (except for Patrick Patterson). He establishes chemistry with a big man (JaVale McGee in Washington off the bat) and works to see him in transition. He's lightning quick but sees the floor at a slower pace.

Wall has the potential to distribute with this team, the question was if he'd be allowed to among veterans who like the ball. If the preseason holds any value whatsoever, that doesn't seem like a problem. Even Gilbert Arenasin his postgame comments made it clear . This is Wall's team. And if that's the case, that Rookie of the Year award is going to be within reach from the get go.

Run DMC in Full Effect

DeMarcus Cousins slipped all the way to the Kings at number five, and honestly, there was absolutely no reason for it. His character issues are all built around on-court blowups which aren't unheard of for a kid his age, and he hasn't been in off-court trouble since his sophomore year of high school. In the meantime, he was arguably the MVP of Calipari's Kentucky team.

Sacramento knows what they have in the combustible big and have marketed him all summer. Then in his preseason debut last night, he showed what he's capable of. 16 points, 16 rebounds, are you freaking kidding me? Check out the two highlights in the first starting at 37 seconds in here . That's what he's bringing, along with what was a good looking jumper.

Cousins has so much instinctive ability at the basket, and for a team looking to run this season, he focused last night on outlet passes. That's a terrifying concept for opponents, if he's able to finish in the post and start the break while bringing in rebounds. His wide body and instincts are going to bring those rebounds in, and preseason or no, 16 boards is a heck of a lot. Cousins already looks like the steal of the draft, and his physical assets put him a leg above Blake Griffin, even before the injury, though Griffin's upside is obviously huge.

On defense, he was surprisingly active, contesting shots, denying his man position. He still needs a bit of work, but I think he could be a quality defensive presence someday, especially with his knack for drawing charges. Another nice thing about DeMarcus is that he eats rebounds and craps nice outlet passes. Many a fastbreak was started last night after DMC corralled the board and threw it out to Tyreke or Beno. His solid performance was not without flaws however, as he made a few silly mistakes with the ball (including once trying to run the ball up the floor himself after a rebound, leading to a quick turnover) which led to five turnovers, all but one of them because of careless mistakes that can be fixed with experience.

Cousins' learning curve could be high as well, depending on how he and the coaching staff mesh, which of course gets back to the attitude questions. But with that kind of opening performance and the minutes he's getting from the start, it's clear Sacramento knows what they have with him. Alongside Tyreke Evans, Cousins has a great shot of being able to compete for the trophy based on opportunity and instincts.

Teams that didn't win big, Philly's bigs need to come up big, and Jefferson just is big, all in today's Shootaround. Posted by Matt Moore

So we always debate the best championship teams. But what about the best teams that didn't win a title ? Dime took a look at those squads and added the 08-09 Cavs. It's hard to imagine that team holding up over time as we look back at Mo Williams' and Antawn Jamison's careers. The 2002 Sacramento Kings, though? That was a pretty great team. One objection? The 2007 Dallas Mavericks need to be on that list. Had the Mavericks not drawn the Warriors in the first round, it's hard to see how Cuban wouldn't be coveting his ring.

A Sonics fan tells Kings fans to pray , because the NBA doesn't care. It should be amended, though to "Pray, because the NBA doesn't care as long as you continually vote down measures for new stadiums. I'm not saying you should have to pay for new stadiums. I'm saying as long as you refeuse to, you open yourself up to getting Thunder'd. There's a reason Orlando fans are going to be enjoying the Amway Center this season while Sonics fans enjoy the Seahawks this fall.

A great feature on DeMarcus Cousinsand his family history . There's so much talk about Cousins being a problem child, but he hasn't been in trouble since the tenth grade. I've never understood how a kid that hasn't had trouble in four years since he was a young teen is somehow a huge concern. Everyone's going to be regretting passing on Cousins when he and Reke are running the pick and roll for years.

The Daniel Orton era is pointing toward bustville. After being considered a reach to begin with, then getting worked over in Summer League, Orton will miss the entire preseason with a knee injury . Orton needs to spend time in the D-League, but the Magic almost never assign their players, which only increases the odds that Orton will flame out.

Sixers president Rod Thorn says their success is dependent on their bigs . Elton Brand is specifically pointed out in the excellent piece by SI's Chris Mannix, but Mareese Speights also needs to stay healthy and take steps into becoming a legit power forward. It's time for him to capitalize on that youthful potential and great per-minute numbers.

Take note of this. It may just be pillow talk. But Eric Spoelstra says that the unselfish play necessary to share the ball for the Heat is already there. That's really relevant for a team with such high usage. You need to be able to operate as an actual functioning offense so that you don't wind up looking like an All-Star team. You know. The kind that winds up with the ball off-court more than Anna Kournikova (remember her?).

Kobe's going to get some run in the international exhibition games . Because he's a freak of nature with no "off" button. There isn't another player who if they were at Bryant's level would wnat to play in these games with the injuries he's still recovering from. The man is more driven than any human being alive.

We've kept you up to date on the health and progress of Andrew Bogut. The latest news is good news . He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he expects to be ready for training and camp and in the opening night lineup. Bucks fans, you can exhale, paramedics are standing by.

The Hornets have agreed to terms with Joe Alexander. Joe Alexander, people. There's simply no way that the economy is not rebounding if Joe Alexander has found himself employed. Alexander provides the Hornets with almost nothing they have any use for, but hey, someone's gotta guard in camp.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu got a training camp invite ! With... the Hornets. But hey, that team doesn't have depth issues. Not in the slightest. It mayh sound disingenuous to say that Joe Alexander doesn't deserve a camp invite and Mensah-Bonsu does, but Pops has NBA length and can defend. Alexander has a poor choice in facial hair.

Baron Davismay win an Emmy for his gang violence documentary. Being involved with film was a big reason Davis wanted to leave the Warriors for the Clippers, and it's good to see he's put the opportunity to good use. Probably won't make fans feel much better about all the time he's missed, though.

How far the might have fallen. Michael Ruffin is now in coaching the ABA . What's left of it, the modern one. Not in the 1970's. That would require a time machine and that risks Ruffin seeing his past self and causing a hole in the universe and it's all very complicated. Much like the reasons for the existence of the ABA currently.

Arco Oil's naming rights deal for the Sacramento arena is expiring . So the Kings will open it up. With the economy and its effects, I'd imagine we're going to see more and more changes in arena rights. Which is kiind of a reason to have a non-sponsored name. But that's just too much money to leave on the table.

Eddy Currywill be the last Knick to report for training camp. Which is nice. I'm actually glad, that way we can spare ourselves the talk about how this will be the one where Curry turns it around and how he looks more motivated than ever. Let's just get it out of the way, he's deadweight. Heavy deadweight.